We’ve enjoyed an awesome season so far, with recent victories in the 2011 Spring Classics—including Milan-San Remo on the brand new Venge, and our 4th consecutive win at Tour of Flanders on a Tarmac. Our steadfast commitment to the idea that smoother is faster means a relentless pursuit of frames boasting the highest torsional stiffness possible without sacrificing vertical compliance. The purest expression of this benefit is the original cobble killer: Roubaix. This bike was born
"It doesn't matter what kind of surface you're riding, the new Roubaix SL3 is smoother and faster anywhere you take it." - BICYCLING, 2010
out of real rider needs—like all of our innovations—and the cutting-edge technologies we employed on the Roubaix have since provided performance benefits throughout our line, while proving smoother is definitely faster. The original idea was born in 2004: Through my own riding experience, and what I saw at events and clubs around the world, I realized the need for a new category of road bike. Large numbers of performance-based riders like myself—who favored endurance events
"During the first ride, I was astonished at the responsiveness of the new Roubaix, yet the bike still had the ability to soak up bad roads." - ROAD BIKE ACTION, 2010
over pure-speed hammerfests—were using spacers and turned-up stems to raise their position on their race bikes, or simply opting for more touring-style frames that sacrificed performance. So our engineers went to work on a bike with what would become Endurance Road geometry, featuring a longer wheelbase, slightly slacker geometry, and taller head tube for a more stable ride, without sacrificing speed and efficiency. The rest is road-racing history… Sincerely,
"The new 2009 S-Works Roubaix SL2 is perfect balance between vertical compliance and lateral stiffness." - CYCLINGNEWS.COM, 2009 "Probably the ultimate pure-bred sportive bike" - BIKERADAR.COM, 2007
Mike Sinyard
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ROUBAIX TIMELINE
Gerolsteiner and Quick-Step ride an all-new Roubaix—major changes are made to improve performance and increase effectiveness of Zertz damping. We start working more closely with our teams to develop bikes using feedback from camps and races.
Specialized introduces a new category of road bike: Endurance Road. The first Roubaix is launched with an unprecedented combination of torsional stiffness and vertical compliance. Purpose-built to excel specifically in Pro-Tour events like its namesake race, but also available at retail, the technology eventually helps Specialized earn the honor of being the only American bike brand ever to win three Paris-Roubaix in a row.
Specialized launches the new Roubaix platform with an S-Works frameset and Pro full-build model; also signs Gerolsteiner.
Gerolsteiner rides the bike for the first time on the cobbles; some of the riders use the bike for other specific races during the remainder of the season.
08 Win #1!
Quick-Step’s Tom Boonen rides the Roubaix to its first victory at Paris-Roubaix (and his second), on board a new 2009 prototype model.
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09 Win #2!
Quick-Step and Boonen do it again: He wins for the second-straight year, making him one of only a handful of elite riders to have won the race three times. The ‘09 bike gets a re-do: SL2 construction that has trickled down from the Tarmac, plus new tapered head tube with an industry-first 1-1/8” to 1-3/8” bearing making the bike even lighter with more precise handling. Specialized signs Saxo Bank to the lineup.
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Win #3!
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Following the previous year’s successful debut, the SL3 Roubaix returns to Paris-Roubaix: We look forward to another great race this year with our largest lineup of teams of teams, including HTC-Highroad, Saxo Bank, and Astana. HTC-Highroad looks forward to having the Roubaix in their arsenal of bikes this year.
Specialized has three past Paris-Roubaix winners on their bikes in this year’s race (Boonen, O’Grady, and Cancellara). Cancellara rides away from the rest of the field en route to a huge victory on a Project Black 2011 development bike that brings Tarmaclike stiffness and lightweight (with SL3 construction) to the Roubaix line, plus new In-Zertz. The changes provide further proof of our idea that “smoother is faster.”
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2011 S-WORKS ROUBAIX SL3
2011 S-WORKS ROUBAIX SL3 TO ACHIEVE THE STATED TARGETS AND TO IMPROVE THE BENEFITS DELIVERED TO THE ENDURANCE ROAD RIDER, SOME OF THE CRITICAL ROUBAIX SL3
“NOTHING IS SMOOTHER AND FASTER” CONTINUES TO BE THE MANTRA FOR ROUBAIX. EVERY INCARNATION OF THE BIKE THAT CREATED THE ENDURANCE ROAD CATEGORY HAS SUCCEEDED AT SMOOTHING THE RIDE AND INCREASING SPEED, MAKING IT THE BEST CHOICE FOR ANY RIDER WHO WANTS TO RIDE LONGER IN GREATER COMFORT.
FRAME AND FORK FEATURES ARE: 1)
THE CRITICAL ATTRIBUTES OF EVERY ROUBAIX: •
A
FRAME MODULE SYSTEM WEIGHT (gm)
The smoothest ride around thanks to engineered vertical compliance that soaks up the higher magnitude impacts and Zertz vibration dampers that filter high frequency input before it gets to the rider.
•
Proven Endurance geometry with generous head tube length puts riders in a more ergonomic position,
2251
2271
2283
2187
2)
totally neutral handling.
ii.
Carbon “box-section” dropouts with ICR (internal cable routing)
iii.
Carbon BB shell with Delron cups
iv.
Carbon headset cups
v.
Internal head tube and BB ribs integrated in lay-up with use of silicone bladders
“COBRA” HEAD TUBE SHAPING i.
Eliminates flat spots to resist frame “breathing” under load, boosting stiffness
and sharpens handling characteristics.
b.
Allows use of a wider top tube and down tube without increasing head tube size (improving stiffness with no compliance sacrifice)
B
VERTICAL COMPLIANCE (mm/kN)
3)
5.71 5.14
5.09
REDUCE WEIGHT (SEE CHART A)
4.55
965g complete frame weight (2010 S-W Roubaix = 1064gm) 2.56
INCREASE VERTICAL COMPLIANCE (SEE CHART B)
ZERTZ i.
New “In-Zertz” vibration damping system filters road vibration more effectively by using a larger, mechanically fastened Zertz insert
ii.
Seatstay manufacturing with single bladder eliminates unnecessary carbon wall and allows for better lay-up control, which reduces weight
iii.
Revised seatstay lay-up improves vertical compliance by 7.5% (comparison between 2011 SW Roubaix prototype and regular 2010 SW Roubaix)
iv.
Weight reduction of approximately 30g in seatstay alone (tested on 2010 SW Roubaix prototype)
v.
Collaboration with world leading vibrations research lab
7.5% improvement vs. 2010 SW Roubaix 3.
INCREASE TORSION, BB, AND REAR TRIANGLE STIFFNESS (SEE CHART C) 4)
Tarmac SL3 ride quality
C 4.
IMPROVE ZERTZ FUNCTION New “In-Zertz” vibration damping system filters road vibration more effectively by using a larger,
STIFFNESS TO WEIGHT – TORSION ((N*m/deg)/kg)
5) 74.53
MAINTAIN CURRENT ROUBAIX GEOMETRY
a.
Developed vibration test method that differentiates frame effects for various riders, road surfaces, and speeds
b.
Determined the most relevant frequency range for rider comfort, fatigue, and control
INTERNAL CABLE ROUTING – DI2 READY i.
Full internal routing of every cable
ii.
Offset down tube for improved cable routing and better Di2 battery and H2O bottle clearance
105.02
mechanically fastened Zertz insert 5.
Strategic surface shaping at top tube/head tube and down tube/head tube junctions a.
BUT WE ACHIEVED EVERY ONE. THOSE TARGETS WERE:
2.
One piece BB/chainstay
Category-leading bottom bracket stiffness boosts power transfer while best-in-class torsional stiffness
FOR 2011, THE ROUBAIX SL3 PERFORMANCE TARGETS WERE AGGRESSIVE,
1.
i.
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while the slightly longer wheelbase and slightly relaxed head tube angle create more stability and
•
NEW SL3 FRAME CONSTRUCTION
73.65
73.40
66.22
INCREASED TIRE CLEARANCE ON FORK AND SEATSTAY i.
Fits Roubaix 23/25c tires with 4mm clearance
To retain proven handling and fit benefits
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